community

This June the Bulls celebrated Juneteenth and Black liberation alongside Chicago’s Black community, supporting events throughout the city that honor the historic day.

This year the Bulls centered its Juneteenth efforts on facilitating opportunities for social connectivity within Chicago's Black community and honoring the Black Experience. Juneteenth is the oldest known nationally celebrated commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States, marking a pivotal day in African American history. As an extension of its efforts to uplift the Black community, the Bulls supported Juneteenth events and activations happening across Chicago in celebration of Black liberation.

Here's how the Bulls honored this historic day –

Something I Can Feel: Chicago Bulls x Dwight WhiteThe Bulls and artist Dwight White partnered to curate the "Something I Can Feel Art Experience (SICFAE)" located at Salonlb (1010 W 35th St.) in Humboldt Park. The exhibit is an immersive experience, showcasing art across disciplines created by well-known and up-and-coming Black artists in Chicago. SICFAE features digital art, photography, sculpture and experiential design that highlights the value and impact of Black art. The exhibit will be open to the public through Monday, June 20.

As an extension of its partnership with Dwight White, the Bulls supported "Juneteenth: A Day to Celebrate!" – an all-day Juneteenth Celebration on Sunday, June 19 in Bridgeport. The celebration focused on the power of healing, featuring Dwight's custom shoe museum display that took guests through the story behind the ‘Second City' sneaker he designed for the Bulls. Through this piece, attendees engaged with art inspired by the Great Chicago Fire, highlighting the healing and revitalization of communities across the city following the momentous event.

Burst Into BooksBurst Into Books – a nonprofit focused on rebuilding South Side communities through advocacy, art, family programming and helping youth deepen their love for reading – hosted its third annual Juneteenth Family Festival on Saturday, June 18 in Beverly. The festival included music, food, local vendors and live entertainment.

For the first year, the Bulls hosted a youth drumming workshop at the festival led by the beloved Bucket Boys. During the workshop, the group led a drum circle in which participants learned and performed a short drum sequence. The workshop highlighted the art of drumming – a popular form of storytelling across cultures during the African Diaspora.

Noah's Arc FoundationOn Thursday, June 23 and Tuesday, June 28, the Bulls in partnership with Noah's Arc Foundation – a nonprofit that provides youth with opportunities to explore their potential to make a positive impact on themselves and their communities – will host two art therapy workshops led by Cecilia Rodhe, the mother of Bulls Legend Joakim Noah.

Through both workshops, youth from Bulls' community partners CHAMPS Male Mentoring and The Simple Good will engage in discussions around the meaning of freedom. Participants will also create art using clay and paint to illustrate their individual perceptions of freedom.

From the Bulls family to yours, Happy Juneteenth!

bulls-celebrate-juneteenth-2022

Bulls celebrate Juneteenth 2022

bulls-unveil-nba-75th-anniversary-legacy-project

Bulls Unveil Nba 75th Anniversary Legacy Project

The Chicago Bulls announced today the unveiling of its NBA 75th Anniversary Legacy Project – funding a permanent space for Mobile Makers Chicago (MMC), a Black and woman led organization focused on diversifying the architecture and design fields through skill-building workshops and educational programming for low-income BIPOC youth.

In celebration of the NBA's 75th season, the league provided each team with a donation to refurbish a Live, Learn and Play Center for youth in their community. The Bulls used this support to help MMC establish its first stationary space at Kimball Arts Center in Humboldt Park. Previously, the organization operated out of a retired UPS delivery van that they converted into a classroom, tool shop, design studio, art gallery and community gathering space.

"We took an intentional approach to identifying our NBA 75th Anniversary Legacy Project and ultimately selected Mobile Makers Chicago because of the Bulls' commitment to amplifying Black owned businesses and Black led organizations," said Bulls Vice President of Community Engagement Adrienne Scherenzel-Curry. "In recent years, the Bulls have also made a concerted effort to increase our investment in Chicago's Latinx community, especially through educational opportunities. Supporting a Black led nonprofit while simultaneously funding a permanent learning space in Humboldt Park, one of the city's predominately Latinx neighborhoods, closely aligns with what the Bulls stand for off the court and in the community. MMC's programming is essential to exposing BIPOC youth to design and architecture education and positioning both fields as viable career paths despite the lack of diversity."

"We are sincerely grateful for the Bulls' support, which was paramount to establishing Mobile Makers Chicago's first stationary space for our students and programming. Having an established presence in the Humboldt Park community will increase our organization's impact and help us showcase the value of art and design education in communities of color," said MMC Founder and Executive Director Maya Bird-Murphy. "As we continue to grow, so will our appreciation for the Bulls organization and its commitment to supporting Black entrepreneurs."

On Saturday, June 11 from 1- 4 p.m. CT, the Bulls will partner with MMC to celebrate the grand opening of the new space. The event will include giveaways and entertainment from Bulls DJs, the Bucket Boys and the Incredibulls. MMC will also host a "Build Your Own Backboard" workshop where youth will learn how to construct a basketball hoop and backboard from recycled materials. Bulls Creative Strategy and Design Advisor Don C. will provide participants with Bulls themed decals to decorate their backboards. Food and beverage will also be provided by a local restaurant, ArePA.

The permanent space will create a haven for learning and function as a co-working space for youth to complete their homework and build a sense of community. MMC offers a range of accessible, low-cost entry, intermediate and advance-level workshops for students ages 8-18, ranging from architecture, graphic design and digital fabrication. The organization will also create a formal mentorship program to support older students aging out of MMC programming.

Bulls Unveil NBA 75th Anniversary Legacy Project

bulls-partner-with-clorox-to-donate-to-the-pilsen-food-pantry

BULLS PARTNER WITH CLOROX TO DONATE TO THE PILSEN FOOD PANTRY

On Saturday, May 7 the Bulls teamed up with Constellation Energy to de-winterize the Bronzeville Community Garden. The event focused on preparing the garden for growing season, cleaning out the debris of winter and prepping the soil for planting.

In the summer, the garden provides residents unlimited access to free fruits and vegetables, increasing access to fresh food in the community and further beautifying the neighborhood. The garden was established in 2010 by Bernard Loyd – the founder and president of Urban Juncture, a nonprofit that revitalizes disinvested Black urban communities by rebuilding neighborhood commerce around culture and innovation.

Becky Fair, founder of Growsumthin, an organization that encourages the Black community to garden and grow their own food, is now the Garden Lead. In her role, she tends to the garden and manages the Junior Garden Lead program, an initiative that provides four high school students a hands-on gardening internship throughout the summer. This year, the Bulls have donated supplies and funds to those participating in the program.

The garden is supported by the Bronzeville Incubator – a collection of programs and activities committed to supporting the community's entrepreneurs and enterprises. The incubator is one of five central elements of the Build Bronzeville community revitalization initiative.

The day also included a special performance by the Bucket Boys and music from Bulls DJ, DJ Metro. At the end of the event, the Bulls and community volunteers danced down the red (mulch) carpet to celebrate a successful day of volunteering!

bulls-and-constellation-energy-de-winterize-the-bronzeville-community-garden

Bulls And Constellation Energy De-Winterize The Bronzeville Community Garden

On April 22, the Bulls hosted a fireside chat at Semicolon Bookstore &amp; Gallery with Lymari Media and Bulls Legend Luol Deng, celebrating the launch of the graphic novel Queen Amani Renas: Protector of Nubia with students from Chicago Bulls College Prep and Urban Prep Academies.

At the event, Christian and Liz Jones who founded Lymari Media – a collective of Black storytellers, entertainment professionals and scholars whose goal is to make African history exciting for all and who created and published the graphic novel – discussed the importance of telling African stories in a positive and affirmative light.

Challenging the idea that Black history begins with the transatlantic slave trade, the novel tells the story of Queen Amani Renas – the queen of Nubia between 40-10BC who is most known for leading Kushite armies in a five-year war against the Romans. The novel will be the first of a series, detailing the untold stories of one of the greatest leaders of ancient Africa.

Luol Deng, who spent 10 years playing for the Bulls, spoke about his work uplifting communities in Africa through the Luol Deng Foundation, a non-profit that empowers youth in South Sudan through sport, education and health and wellness.

Semicolon Bookstore &amp; Gallery, where the event took place, is one of the Bulls' community partners through the BMO Black Owned Business Initiative, which uses the Bulls platform to highlight one Chicago Black owned businesses per month.

bulls-host-fireside-chat-with-luol-deng-and-lymari-media

Bulls Host Fireside Chat with Luol Deng and Lymari Media

In recent years, the Bulls have made a concerted effort to increase its investment in Chicago's Latinx community, especially through educational opportunities for students at Chicago Public Schools. This season the organization launched a partnership program with one of its community partners and 2021 MLK Legacy Honorees, Alt Space Chicago – a non-profit that works to revitalize South and West Side communities through art.

What is technically considered a STEAM school, Infinity High School in Little Village, one of the city's predominately Latinx neighborhoods, lacks the necessary resources for a robust arts program. In response, the Bulls and Alt Space teamed up to develop a year-long arts program for a group of junior year students at the school. Through the program, the students attend 90-minute weekly sessions, led by Alt Space, to work on 2-3 art projects throughout the year.

This initiative demonstrates the Bulls' ongoing commitment to providing students of color access to opportunities that support their personal and professional development – a commitment that is especially illustrated by the fact that each student, all of whom working toward an associate degree, will receive college credit for their participation in the program.

Each workshop ranges in topic, but all are focused on using art as a way for the students to express themselves and potentially expand their view of art as a viable career path. For one of the sessions, the Bulls were lucky enough to have its Manager of Digital Content, Joe Pinchin, speak about photography, offer advice to the students and share his professional journey to becoming a photographer for the Bulls.

bulls-partner-with-alt-space-to-develop-an-arts-program-at-infinity-high-school

Bulls Partner with Alt Space to Develop an Arts Program at Infinity High School

As an extension of its monthlong celebration of Black joy, the Bulls hosted the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) – the governing body of the nine historically Black fraternities and sororities also known as the "Divine Nine" – at its annual Black History Month game.

NPHC was founded in 1930 at Howard University, a historically Black university in Washington D.C., with a collective purpose of fostering collaboration among its members and uplifting the Black community. Each of the nine NPHC organizations were founded during a period when African Americans were denied essential rights afforded to others and subsequently faced racial isolation on predominately white college campuses.

The Divine Nine are famously known for their hand gestures and step performances, which are unique to each of the nine organizations. Fans enjoyed a special halftime show choreographed by NPHC members, featuring the beloved BullzKidz, Stampede – the Bulls' drumline – and an original spoken word poetry performance by Derrick L. Christian II about the Black experience.

Throughout the month of February and beyond, the Bulls continue to prioritize expanding access to personal and professional growth opportunities to people of color and using its platform to amplify the voices, traditions, and contributions of Chicago's communities of color.